Take a look around your house and chances are you'll find Martha Stewart in your kitchen, your living room, your closet, maybe even your bed. But it's not as creepy as it sounds! Martha's turned her name into a brand that spans books, magazines, TV shows, and home products. If there's anyone who knows the "blueprint" (that's the name of her latest magazine) for power, it's Martha. And she says that the best way to DIY your future is to develop a vision now. Martha didn't always know exactly what she would do with her life, but she was driven to be the best. After college she was drawn to the excitement of Wall Street. But while being a stockbroker fired up her passion for business, Martha also loved homemaking. She combined her interests and started her own catering company. Then she had a brainstorm that her ideas could reach even more people, so she wrote the now-classic how-to book Entertaining. That first success inspired Martha to reach an even bigger audience with more books, magazines, and a TV show.

With each project, Martha strengthened her vision for what has now become a famous brand and made her one of the most powerful women in business! We all know Martha took a tumble from the top in 2004 when she went to prison for investment misconduct. But she's now made a comeback with even more ideas and business plans. Martha personifies the type of businesswoman I want to become. As an entrepreneur (I'm starting my own business on campus), I know I will face obstacles, but I hope I can channel Martha's drive to overcome them. She taught me that we all have a responsibility to ourselves to make our vision for our future a reality. Here's how.

Martha Stewart: I was a very curious person because of my parents. They encouraged me to be as curious about as many things as I wanted. I had no idea when I went to college what I'd be doing. I took organic chemistry and did terribly, but I was good in English and art. I took many courses and participated in as many activities as I could. I learned a lot about every single thing.

ET: How did studying so many subjects and participating in so many activities help you in your path to success?

MS: I like knowing about everything and I think that really helps me in my business. I always thought I would be a teacher. And I think I actually lived up to my initial dreams, because what I do now is teach millions and millions of people many different kinds of things.

ET: Most people don't think of homemaking as a powerful career. How did you turn your ideas into a business?

MS: When I worked in the stock market after college, I did my research on companies. I saw that the fast-growing companies all started off with a really good idea. That's where I got the idea that I could do something in the field that I was most interested in, which was homemaking. I thought that maybe catering could lead to something, so I started a catering business and it led me right into the field that I'm in now.

ET: When did you first realize that you had made it big?

MS: When I wrote my first book, Entertaining, in 1982. When you write a book, you're an expert and people look at you in a different way. But even though it was an accomplishment and I got asked to do speaking engagements all over the country, I realized that there was so much more to do. I decided to work really hard and write one book a year. Then I started to think, Gosh, I have many more ideas than one book a year. I started the monthly magazine Martha Stewart Living so that I could get more people to work with me to portray all of the beautiful how-to ideas that I had.

ET: Rather than just settling for one success, how can girls make sure that their accomplishments keep coming?

MS: You have to be open to change. I never stop making sure that what I say is the best of what could be said about a particular thing. It's a constant evolution. If I planted a tree one way yesterday and somebody tells me of a better way to plant a tree, I think, You know, they're right, that's better. Then I change my way to accommodate the new way of planting trees.

ET: Girls can be catty about each other's accomplishments. How can we keep it from affecting us?

MS: You can only be above all of that. You have to focus on what's important to you and go for it. But don't stab people in the back. It poisons your whole life if you're like that.

ET: What can a girl do now to get ahead in her path to success?

MS: Broaden yourself. You don't have to focus when you're 20. I think the broader you are, the better it is. Later you can focus on your real interests and ideas. The ultimate goal is to be an interesting, useful, wholesome person. If you're successful on top of that, then you're way ahead of everybody.